The lectures take place in the Huygens building #427 on Wednesdays from 9:00 - 10:45hr. The exercises are held in the same room on Mondays from 9:00 - 10:45hr. For exceptions see preliminary schedule below.
The teaching period is from September 10 through December 17, 2008. The course language is English.
The lecturer is Dr. Bernhard Brandl, office: #535 (Oort building), phone (071) 527-5830, email. The teaching assistant is Drs.Reinout van Weeren, office: #534, email.
Nowadays, astronomical observations are increasingly demanding in terms of sensitivity, image contrast, field of view, stability and calibrations, pushing telescopes and instrumentation closer and closer to their limits. Meaningful results require a careful understanding of the technologies and equipment that is being used. This course provides a general overview of most aspects that are relevant to observational astronomy, covering both the underlying physical principles and the technical concepts. In addition, the theoretical concepts of image signal processing are being discussed and practical exercises will be held. The lectures are structured as follows:
The course will use the book Observational Astrophysics (Springer) by P. Lena, F. Lebrun & F. Mignard, 2nd revised and enlarged edition, 1998, ISBN: 978-3-540-63482-9. It is recommended that students get their own copy of the book.
For further reading on the various topics it is recommended to have a look at the following books in the library:
The course is intended for 3rd year Bachelor students, and assumes two years of successful studies in Astronomy. Credits: 6 EC points.
The grades will be determined from a written exam at the end of the course. The content of the exam will be largely based on the topics of the weekly exercises.
Date |
Lecture topic |
Lena |
Basics of Observational Astronomy |
||
10-Sep-08 |
Introduction, Coordinate systems and time |
8 |
15-Sep-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
17-Sep-08 |
Properties of radiation (radiometric quantities, coherence, polarization, magnitudes) | 3 |
22-Sep-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
24-Sep-08 |
Atmospheric properties (transmission, emission, scattering, dispersion) | 2 |
29-Sep-08 |
No exercises | |
01-Oct-08 |
No lecture | |
06-Oct-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
08-Oct-08 |
Atmospheric turbulence and telescopes | 4 |
Theoretical Basis and Background |
||
13-Oct-08 |
Fourier transform - part I (definition, properties, 1D examples) | A |
15-Oct-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
20-Oct-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
22-Oct-08 |
Fourier transform - part II (2D examples, theorems) & Geometrical optics (image formation, aberrations) | A |
27-Oct-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
29-Oct-08 |
Diffraction optics (Coherence, Fraunhofer diffraction, PSF, MTF) | 4 |
03-Nov-08 |
Special optical design - Introduction exercise (solutions) | |
05-Nov-08 |
No lecture |
|
10-Nov-08 |
Special optical desing exercises continued | |
12-Nov-08 |
Signal, noise, and sensitivities | 6 |
17-Nov-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
Specific Techniques and Instrumentation |
||
19-Nov-08 |
Detectors (part 1) | 7 |
24-Nov-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
26-Nov-08 |
Detectors (part 2) | 7 |
01-Dec-08 |
Spectrometers (spectral information, dispersing elements, types of spectrometers) | 5 |
03-Dec-08 |
No exercises | |
08-Dec-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
10-Dec-08 |
Adaptive Optics (principle, components, laser guide stars, types of AO systems) | (4.4) |
15-Dec-08 |
Exercises (solutions) | |
17-Dec-08 |
Interferometry (visibility, interferometers) | 4.3 |
16-Jan-09 |
Summary lecture of the course [9:00 hr - 11:00 hr] | |
28-Jan-09 |
Exam [10:00 hr - 13:00 hr] - grades |